


LaLu Week 2016

by ManiacProductions



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/F, F/M, LaLu Week, LaLu Week 2016, M/M, Post-Tartaros Arc, Spoilers, inappropriate language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-15 04:56:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5772139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ManiacProductions/pseuds/ManiacProductions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucy's adventure to fix Aquarius's key sets off a chain of events that no one could've ever predicted. </p><p>Seven Chapters for the seven days for LaLu Week. This is a full story with each chapter revolving around the seven prompts;<br/>Aquarius<br/>Devilish<br/>Dream<br/>Sparks<br/>Manga<br/>Games<br/>Prey</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One; Aquarius

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU taking place after the Tartaros story arc. If you have not read that arc and don't want spoilers, please close this story and continue to a different story.
> 
> This takes place after the defeat of Tartaros, after Team Raijinshū and Laxus wake up, however Master Makarov doesn't dissolve the guild.

_Chapter One_ ; **Aquarius**

"Princess." His soft and quiet voice gently cut it's way through her dreamless sleep and calling her to the land of the awake. "Princess, it's time to wake up now." Lucy's sleeping form turned away from the noise as she groaned, her hands grasping tightly at her light pink blankets and pulling them closer to herself. "Lucy, it's time to wake up and go to the guild. It's noon, Princess, you _need_ to get up now." He said a little more sternly, trying to keep the concern out of his voice so that Lucy wouldn't try to guilt him into letting her sleep longer again.

"Loke, go away." Lucy's demanded sharply, pulling the comforter tighter around her body and trying to will herself back to sleep. Loke though, dressed in his celestial attire, wouldn't let Lucy's harsh tone or angry demand faze him. Instead, the lion spirit took in a deep breath and lifted Lucy - comforter and all - out the bed and began walking to the bathroom.

"Put me down!" The upset mage shouted at her spirit, her tiny fists slamming into his chest. "I want to go back to bed, I want to sleep!" She yelled at him, however the fight left her when she looked up and saw the sad look in Loke's eyes. All was silent in the apartment for a few brief moments, neither Spirit nor Mage saying anything to each other.

" _Don't pity me."_ She finally snapped at him in an anguished tone of voice, her eyes - so full of anger and pain - shifting to look anywhere but at her friend. She heard him sigh and felt his arms tightening a little more around her as he stepped into her bathroom and set her down on the toilet. Lucy continued to look away from him, instead focusing her attention of the cheery skies that she saw outside her bathroom window.

"Lucy." Loke said softly, kneeling down in front of her and resting a hand on her leg. "Lucy, look at me please." He moved his free hand up to her face and gently cupped it, pushing it so she would have to look at him. Her brown eyes, which had once been so full of happiness and life were now filled with heartache and listlessness, filled Loke with an anger the lion spirit hadn't felt since witnessing Karen abuse Aries. He silently cursed Tartaros, Jackal, and alegria for causing his master so much pain, for forcing her to sacrifice Aquarius to save herself and everyone else. He cursed Fairy Tail and every member of the guild for being caught in alegria, for not noticing how much Lucy had sacrificed for them, and most of all for moving on from the Tartaros attack and leaving an emotionally wounded Lucy behind.

Above all else though, Loke cursed himself for not being strong enough to save her when she needed him the most.

He had failed the most important person in his life currently. He failed the person he swore he would protect, the person who _saved_ him, and he would never forgive himself for it.

"I would never pity you, Princess. None of us would." He assured her with a sad smile, watching her bow her head and look away from him again. "Now come on, we're going to the guild soon." He told her, leaving her no room to argue with him and his decision. "Why don't you shower while I make us some breakfast!" He suggested cheerily, already making his way out of the bathroom while Lucy continued to sit on the toilet and stare at the wall. Silently Loke sighed and waited for the familiar chime of Virgo opening her gate to take of their master. Sure enough, only second after leaving Lucy, Virgo appeared in front of the blonde in her black and white bikini.

"Hello Princess." Virgo greeted with her normal blank expression, already turning away from Lucy and starting the bath. "Today we'll be using the lavender scented wash, Libra made it in her spare time and gave it to me." The maiden spirit informed Lucy as she poured in some of the purplish soap and turned back to the celestial mage. "Shall I undress you princess or do you wish to undress yourself?" Virgo asked as Lucy stood and sighed, stripping out of the comfortable pink pajamas. She didn't bother arguing or fighting back against them, after all this had all become normal as of late.

Unfortunately, this routine had become such a common occurrence in the Heartfilia apartment, that her spirits had created a schedule of times when they would appear so that Lucy would never be alone and so that none of them were out on their own energy for too long.

The first week Lucy had first stopped taking care of herself, Loke was a bit ashamed to admit that he had went a little overboard. Not only had he stayed in the human realm the full week, he had also used his powers constantly in an attempt to cheer his distressed master up. However, constant use of his powers, staying out in the human world for a constant week, all with no rest had run Loke down faster than he thought.

At the end of the week, Loke's energy was falling fast but Lucy's health - both mental and physical - was falling faster. Loke couldn't just leave her alone and she had made it very clear that she was in no mood to deal with her guildmates; Loke theorized that there was a small part of Lucy that blamed them for the current state of Aquarius's key, however Loke wouldn't ever ask and he doubted that Lucy would ever admit it. So with little to no options, Loke called for Virgo to join him and to care of Lucy while he rested. Virgo had agreed, but she set one condition; she and Leo take turns taking care of their princess. When Loke had agreed, he hadn't expected Virgo to pull out a color coded schedule that split up the time between all of Lucy's Zodiac Spirits.

For the next few days, the Zodiacs with contracts to Lucy took care of their master and friend to the best of their abilities. Everyday Loke would wake Lucy up and bring her to her bathroom where Virgo would appear and take care of Lucy's grooming while Loke cooked a late breakfast at around noon. Together Loke and Virgo would get Lucy to eat just enough food to keep her alive and somewhat in her weight range. Once breakfast was done, Virgo would take Lucy up to her room where Capricorn was waiting for her.

Loke would go back to the spirit world for rest and to regain his energy while Virgo would clean up breakfast and tidy up the house. After a few house, at three pm, Sagittarius and Scorpio would take Capricorn's and Virgo's place. Sagittarius typically brought Celestial games with him that he and Scorpio would - somewhat - play with Lucy. Typically Lucy wouldn't actually play with them, however neither spirit minded much and pretended as if Lucy was indeed paying attention to the game and following along with their conversation. Four hours later, Loke would reappear and begin to make dinner for the four of them. Again, Loke and the others would force Lucy to eat some of her dinner. After dinner, Tartarus would appear with Plue and Scorpio and Sagittarius would take their leave back to the Spirit world. Tartarus would typically drop Plue off in Lucy's arms and then pick her up and together they would take a walk around the town once the streets were mostly empty. While Tartarus was out, Loke would take the time to clean up dinner and then go out and would go shop for the essentials.

At eight sharp, Tartarus would bring Lucy and Plue back home where Aries and Cancer were waiting for them. After transferring Lucy to Cancer, Tartarus would go back home and Cancer would take Lucy upstairs to the bathroom. Aries would start the bath, soothing scented bubbles included, and after undressed Lucy, the ram spirit would calmly wash Lucy as quickly as she could. After her bath, she and Cancer would dress Lucy and make the final preparations for bedtime. Aries would get the bed ready and make sure all the windows were locked while Cancer sat Lucy down in her desk chair and began to do her hair all while telling her about the latest celestial gossip. Typically by the time Cancer was done, Loke was back home and Aries was putting anything he bought away. Loke would then take over for Cancer and tuck Lucy into bed, wishing her goodnight and silently praying that tomorrow would be better. After that, the three spirits would go back to the spirit world and, along with the others, would silently watch Lucy.

Loke probably would've let this routine continue forever, had it not been for one spirit in particular.

Aquarius.

After hearing about the state Lucy was in, the mermaid spirit had tracked him down and gave him a piece of her mind. Loke would never forget that moment; he would never forget the way she grabbed him and slammed him against his own door, nor would he forget looking into her suspiciously watery eyes, or the words she hissed at him.

_"What do you think you're doing, dumbass?! You can't just let the brat get away with this crap she's pulling. She's needs to pull herself together and get a boyfriend or something. She doesn't need you and the others enabling her, dammit Loke. She's killing herself and you're letting her! If you keep letting her do this, it'll be Karen and Layla all over again. Only instead of her magic killing her, it's me destroying her. Dammit Loke, don't let the memory of me destroy her."_

In that instance, in his dumbfounded state, Loke had asked a question that surprised not only himself but also Aquarius as well.

_"Why does she need to get a boyfriend?"_

It was a stupid question, a really stupid question, but Loke just had to ask.

_"So she isn't alone."_

Loke sighed softly as he cooked breakfast for Lucy, Virgo, and himself. Pancakes with strawberries and orange juice. The lion spirit was about to call Virgo to ask if Lucy was dressed when the door was thrown open.

"LUSHE!" Loke abruptly turned and watched as a ball of blue fur flew past the living room and went straight for the bathroom. With an annoyed sigh, Loke began to clean up the uneaten breakfast with the knowledge that Lucy wouldn't bother even trying to eat with her team here. Maybe he put it in the refrigerator, he could heat it up and get her to eat it later. _Hopefully._

"Oh." He heard Lucy say softly, surprise tinting her normally desolate tone. "Hey Happy, did you guys finish your mission already?" She asked as she plastered a fake smile on her face, gently taking the exceed into her arms and petting his head. Happy gave a purr of satisfaction as he began to tell Lucy all about the mission they went on and how _he_ was the real star of the mission.

Loke wondered for a brief moment, in between Happy's tales of how he rescued Gray and Natsu, if they ever noticed those when she smiled like that. He wondered if they ever heard that her laughs were fake, if they ever questioned her tight smiles, or the way she seemed to be wrapped in a blanket of despair. He wondered what would happen if they noticed; would they try to pressure her into telling them what's wrong, would they care for her like he and her other spirits have, would they try - and probably fail - to cheer her up?

The sound of heavy footsteps caused Loke to abruptly turn around and meet the gaze of the Erza Scarlet. "Loke." She greeted him with her usually nod, eyeing him and the food he was putting away. Loke gave her a nod back, quickly turning away from her curious gaze so she wouldn't notice the sad look in his eyes. Lucy already made it clear that she didn't want to trouble the guild with her troubles nor her fall into depression. He heard more footsteps from the house followed by the sounds of Natsu and Gray arguing.

"Boys," Erza started, her tone menacing and a dark aura surrounding her. "you aren't fighting, are you?" She asked as the two fighting mages suddenly jumped together and hugged each other in what would normally be a friendly half embrace. "That's what I thought." She declared with narrowed eyes, watching them for a few more seconds before turning back to Loke.

"Will you be joining us at the guild, Loke?" The redhead asked him as Lucy came out of her room with Happy snuggled contently in her arms, the tiny blue cat was currently chewing on a raw fish that's origins were a mystery to Loke.

"I . . ." Loke paused as he thought more about the question. On one hand, if he went to the guild then he could possibly try to talk to the master about Lucy and Aquarius's sacrifice and about her downward spiral. Despite how much it would hurt Lucy, he knew that someone needed to know and someone - _anyone_ \- needed to help her. On the other hand though, Lucy had promised him that she would try to get better, she promised that one day - when ready - she'd talk with someone about her problems and about the pain she felt every time she looked at Aquarius. Loke wanted what was best for her, he wanted her to be safe and happy and be that person she once was. He wanted her to be that girl again, the Lucy who stood up no matter what the problem was.

He wanted the Lucy that never gave up.

He wanted his Lucy back.

". . . actually can't today, sorry." But, he also didn't want to push Lucy when she wasn't ready. "In fact, I should be heading back now." He said as Erza nodded and Lucy gave him a half somewhat genuine smile. He gave her a sad smile back, disappearing back into his own world in a glow of gold.

When Loke returned to the spirit world, a heavy weight crushing his heart and tears gathering in his eyes, he turned to the nearest wall and punched it as hard as he could. The wall cracked and little crumbles of stone fell to the ground, but it held up well under Loke's glowing fist.

Unknown to the leader of the Zodiacs, Aquarius stood across the street watching him breakdown. "Come on brat, can't you see what your doing to us?" She whispered to herself, her hands tightened into fists as she quickly made her way to her fountain. Unlike Loke, she wouldn't cry over Lucy again.

After all, she wasn't Lucy's spirit anymore.

And _that_ thought was enough to break Aquarius's will enough for the tears to start falling.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two; **Devilish**_

Gajeel turned to look at the door as Team Natsu walked through the doors, all of them splitting up once inside the guild hall. He was hoping that it would be Shrimp and her band of idiots, who were off in some village name Eshco taking care of some curse, but he supposed Flame Brain and Elsa would be good entertainment while he wait for Shrimp to get back. After all whenever they were together, a brawl seemed to always start.

And just like Gajeel predicted, Flame Brain and Icicle Idiot went straight to their normal table, the two of them arguing all the way over. It hadn't resulted in punches yet, but listening to the argument he was sure that fire and ice would be thrown soon. Sure enough, Fire Breath launched himself at the Ice Princess, his fist on fire and aimed at the Icicle's face. Gajeel might join in later, but only after he finished his bolts. He payed a lot of jewels for these damn things, highest quality metal you could find in Magnolia and he was going to savor them. And while he was eating them, he might as well watch the destructive train wreck that was Team Natsu. Speaking of the guild's most destructive force, Gajeel searched the guild for the other powerhouse of the team.

The redheaded demon, made her way to the bar to get her normal order. Right now it looked like the redhead was content with letting them argue and fight but Gajeel was certain that once things escalated, she'd get up and either join the fight or stop it. Gajeel was hoping that she'd join the fight, it'd certainly make things more interesting. Deciding for now that Erza wasn't going to join the fight, Gajeel turned his attention to the other female member of Team Natsu.  
Bunny girl, after dropping off the fur ball with the idiot, made her way to the second floor. As she made her way upstairs, Gajeel thought back on how everything turned out this way. After the crap with Tarturus, Bunny girl announced that she was taking time off from being mage. Not long after the old man gave her a job organizing the mission boards and helping him with paperwork. Gajeel wouldn't admit it, but he watched Bunny a lot when she was in the guild working.

Not that he cared about her or anything.

Nope, he didn't care at all.

He didn’t care about the way she looked so sad every day or even the fact that he heard her talking to the overgrown cat about retiring from magic. Hearing her saying that being a mage was too hard after Tarturus and after what she did during the fight with Jackal, certainly didn't worry him and make him curious about what she didn't tell them when she recounted her fight with Jackal and how she freed them alergia.

See, he didn't care at all.

And even if he did care about her, it was only because she was Shrimp's best friend. Yeah, that was the only reason he felt the need to watch her and make sure she was fine. He certainly didn’t feel responsible for Bunny after torturing her, after making her bleed and threatening to murder her. He didn’t see her bruised and bloody face every time she smiled at him and said good morning without a trace of fear or blame. And his instincts definitely didn't tell him to protect her like she was part of his pack. Because she wasn't, because there was no pack. That's right, the other Dragon Slayers in the guild did not accidentally form a pack with each other, a few other select uninformed members of the guild, and then later the twin dragon slayers. Nope, that never happened.

Which is why he wasn’t worried about her at all.

Oh, _fuck_.

Gajeel was worried about Bunny girl and god dammit, he didn't know how to help her. He didn't even know what was wrong with her, how the hell was he supposed to help her when he didn't even know what happened to her in Tarturus? The other's in the pack noticed too, well most of everyone in the pack that is. Wendy had been the first to notice the change in her "older sister", in fact she was the one who brought it to his and the shadow twin dragon slayer's attention.

_"Gajeel-nii." Gajeel turned away from Rogue to stare at little Wendy who, despite her fidgeting and twisting, looked up at him confidently. "I think, no something is wrong with Lucy-nee." Gajeel immediately turned towards Bunny Girl, searching for any sign of injury. When he found none, he turned back to Wendy with a raised brow. Rogue, who had subtly turned to stare at Lucy, turned back when he heard Gajeel growling at him in warning._

_"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her." Gajeel pointed out in an uncaring tone as if he hadn't just immediately turned to turn look at her when he thought she was injured nor growled at Rogue when he was staring at her._

_"Not physically," Wendy said with a huff, placing her hand to abover her heart. "emotionally." She explained as she turned to look back at Lucy, who was smiling and laughing so unbelievably fake. Gajeel turned to stare at her again, this time drawing her attention. When brown eyes met red ones, she gave him a smile so fake that Gajeel nearly grimanced. Gajeel made a noise in the back of his throat as he turned back to Wendy and Rogue, giving her a nod._

_"You might be right, Munchkin."_

Gajeel was pulled out of his memories by Lucy's feet pounding quickly across the floor. Turning to stare at the second floor, he watched as Lucy ran up to team Raijinshū and pulled Laxus away from his team and into his office. As the office door began to close, he noticed a flyer clutched tightly in her pale hand. Was she going on a mission? Had she changed her mind about taking a break? Or was she just informing Laxus about a possible mage trap mission?

These questions took a backseat, as they would be answered in a few mintues when Lucy and Laxus left the Lightning Dragon Slayer's office. Instead Gajeel's thoughts turned to Laxus, the pack Alpha.

The older Slayer was an asshole.

Fuck that, Laxus isn't an asshole, he was the fucking devil.

The blond mage, once he found out he was the alpha of the pack, began pushing them to their limits. Which, while it did help them improve their magic containers, the training regamine was still a bitch to do every damn day. Hell he and Rogue looked more like they were a devil, with their dark hair and red eyes, but Gajeel was sure that Laxus was the devil incarnate.

The goddamn devil.

Soon enough, Lucy and Laxus both left Laxus's office and went different ways. Laxus made his way back his team with a heavy shoulders, something obviously weighing on his mind as he sat down and began talking.

Lucy however made her way out of the of the guild with a small smile, an actual goddamn smile, on her face.

Something was up and maybe it would be for the best.

_Maybe._


	3. Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is late, but it wasn't my fault. ATT, my internet provider, was working on our lines so the internet was down until today. So sorry about missing yesterday and the day before. I'm going to post all three days today, but I'm going to space them out so I don't spam you guys with emails and so you have a chance to read each chapter! Sorry again!

When Lucy and the others arrived at the Guild, she immediately went upstairs to the second floor to start work for the day. After taking time from the Team - and missions in general - Lucy had been approached by the master with a job opportunity. It was a good deal, not only for her but also for the master and Laxus.

_"Is it true?" Lucy jumped when she heard Master's voice from behind her, causing her to almost drop her strawberry milkshake._

_"Gramps?" She softly questioned him in a curious voice, not completely sure what he was talking about. He was probably talking about her break from Team Natsu and missions, but there was always a chance - a small, near non-existent - chance that he found out about Aquarius and what she did to save them all._

_"You've quit Team Natsu?" He looked at her like how she imagined a concerned grandfather would look at their grandchild. That look, filled with so much worry and love, nearly made Lucy break into tears and tell him all about Aquarius and the Celestial King and how much it hurt. But Lucy stood strong and gave him a tight smile, choking back the sob that threatened to spill from her mouth._

_"Yea, I think I'm going to take a break from missions for a while." She told him, trying so hard to stay strong. She wouldn't burden him with her problems, not when he had so many problems to deal with already. "I think the battle with Tarturus took a lot out of me."_

_"Is everything alright, my child?" Lucy nodded and forced her herself to smile even bigger, willing him not to see the unshed tears that gathered in her eyes. "Are you sure?" She knew that tone, she knew that he didn't quite believe her lies that everything was alright. Lucy wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep the charade up if he didn't stop looking and acting so worried about her and her decision._

_"Of course Master, I just think I need some time off." She could feel pairs of eyes watching her, probably worry about her like the Master was. She wondered, for a brief moment, who was watching her and how she could get them to stop._

_"Well, how will you get money to pay for what you need? Do you already have a job lined up?" He asked her, the corned starting to be replaced by a thoughtful look._

_Lucy wasn't sure if she liked that look. "Not yet, no." She admitted with a nervous chuckle as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I was going to look for one today after I told you and Team Natsu that I'd be taking a break. I have enough money saved up for about two month's rent," that didn't include her enormous food bill that came with being a part of Team Natsu ". . .uh actually, just one month's rent actually. I forgot to factor in other expenses!" She said as she tried to laugh it off so she wouldn't worry Master or anyone else who could hear her._

_The look that Master Makarov gave her made her believe that she wasn't doing the best job at that._   
_"Well then, it's a good thing Laxus and I need a personal assistant." He declared and Lucy made a surprised noise in the back of her throat. "Mhmm, you can start Monday. You'll work guild hours, Monday through Friday, and help us manage the guild. With your studies in business, I'm sure you'll do great!" He said, mostly to himself as he began to make his way upstairs to his office to begin the paperwork to employ Lucy._

_Lucy hadn't gotten herself together until she heard Master Makarov's office door shut, effectively knocking her out of her stupor. "Wait, wait, what?" She said to herself, starting to run up to the Master's office. "Master! Master, you can't just - !"_

Lucy remembered the the hours spent trying to convince Master to not try and give her this job. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful, she just didn't want to get special treatment just because she was a member of the guild. Master just wouldn't take no for an answer and eventually, Lucy walked out of his office with a new job and a list of responsibilities. One of which she was currently doing.  
Her number one priority was checking the mission boards and making sure each mission was on the right board and that it wasn't a possible mage trap. It had been a while since Fairy Tail received any mage traps, missions meant to get mages alone or in small groups so they ambush them and capture or kill them. While checking the boards, the S-Class one first and then the bottom floor after, Lucy made sure to organize each mission by difficulty to make things easier for when someone picked a job. As she read through and organized the missions, a particular name caught her eye.

_Layton Gallagher._

Lucy clutched the paper tightly in her hands, her heart pounding so hard and so quick that she was sure that the Dragon Slayers in the guild could hear it. Layton Gallagher was the most famous and most powerful Mending Mage in Fiore. He could fix any magical item, or so Wizard Weekly claimed. His prices were extreme for most magical items and, from what Lucy heard, he had no social skills what so ever.

_"What could he possibly need?" She thought to herself curiously, reading over the mission._   
_S-Class mage, preferablly with team or partner, needed to take care of dark guild._   
_It seems my reputation has once again caused me trouble, this time with a dark mage guild. They have told me that if I do not repair their equipment, for free, that they will end my life. I have held up in my house and activated ruins to protect me until this guild has been destroyed._   
_Should you take this job, you will recieve; a map to their location and a horse to bring you to them._

_Your reward; I will fix one magical item from each mage in group and you will be payed 3,000,000 Jewels._

Lucy's breath caught, . . . _I will fix one magical item_ . . ., the greatest mending mage who could - possibly - fix any magical item. One of her hands went up to her neck where Aquarius's key rested on neck. 

Was it possible to even fix a Celestial Key?

If it was possible then Layton Gallagher, the Layton Gallagher who she would never been able to afford under any circumstance, was the best - the only - chance she had at fixing her oldest friend's key. She had no other choice or chance, no other mending mage would be able to fix such a powerful and old magic item.

She had to go on this mission.

In daze - This is a dream, this has to be a dream Lucy thought with tears gathering in her eyes - Lucy slowly walked to the steps and began her decent downstairs. This was an S-Class Mission, Mira would never allow her to take this mission by herself, no matter how much she begged the barmaid. "I have to get a partner." She whispered to herself, unaware that she was by the bar where Mira, Levy, and Cana were sitting together talking.

"A partner for what, Lu-Chan?" Levy asked curiously, tilting her head to the side as she stared at her tearful best friend. Lucy's head shot up and she stared at her three friends, watching as their smiles dropped and concerned frowns appeared. "Lu-Chan, is everything alright?" Lucy wasn't listening though, instead she began looking around the guild in a slightly frantic manner.

Mira, Erza, Laxus, Gildarts, Mystogan. The five S-Class mages of Fairy Tail.

Lucy immediately crossed of Mira, Gildarts, and Mystogan from her mental list of S-Class mages. Mira didn't really take missions that often anymore, instead choosing to stay as a barmaid even after the return of her little sister. Gildarts, while he would definitely be able to help her, was still on one of the 10 year missions and Lucy wasn't sure when he'd return. And Mystogan wasn't technically apart of the guild anymore, kind of. The name Mystogan was still registered to the guild, but Edolas Jellal was obviously in Edolas however Earthland Jellal sometimes used the name Mystogan whenever he needed to be a legal mage.

So that left Erza and Laxus, neither of which she really wanted to ask to take her on this mission. Erza would invite the rest of Team Natsu and she was sure that they'd ask her questions until she told them why she needed to go on this mission. Laxus, who she was sure would help her without questioning her, had become very protective of her for some reason. Lucy noticed it wasn't just him, she could feel several pairs of eyes watching her constantly when she was in the guild but she wasn't sure who was practically stalking her. Lucy sure if this protectiveness would transfer over to when they were on a job or if it would effect how he treated her while they were fighting.  
Erza or Laxus. Erza or Laxus. Erza or Laxus.

With her head held high, Lucy practically ran from her friends - who were no getting more and more worried as she ignored their questions - and made her way over to Team Raijinshū. As she stopped at the end of the table, four sets of eyes turned to stare at her with a curious gaze.

"Hey everyone, sorry to interrupt but I need to borrow Laxus." She told he with a small smile, a real smile that felt so forieng to her after all the fake smiles. "It's really important." She assured them as Laxus stood up and began making his way up to his office, not waiting for Lucy to catch up to him.  
The short walk to his office was silent, neither blond mage saying anything to the other. "What'cha need, Blondie?" He asked, taking a brief look at the piece of paper clutched in her shaking hands. "A mage trap?" He asked, looking much more serious than he had before. Lucy seemed confused at first before she realized how this must've seemed; her stealing Laxus away, a mission clutched in her hands, claiming that it was important.

Which it was . . . just maybe not as important to Laxus or the others in the guild.

"N-No." She stuttered uncertainly, now a little embarrassed and afraid about her request. With shaking hands, Lucy laid the mission on his desk and knelt down on the ground. "Please, please, please take this mission with me Laxus." She wondered if Laxus could hearing her pounding heart, if he could smell the tears that were falling from her eyes, if he could feel her desperation. "Please." She said, her voice shaking so much that she was afraid she'd sobbing in front of him.

"Shit." Laxus cursed quietly, but Lucy still caught the curse, as he stood up and practically yanked her up to her feet. She prepared for a lot of things; Laxus to kick her out of his office, him to fire her for making something seem important when it really wasn't, or maybe for him to drag her to the master to have her thrown in an mage asylum. Instead though, Laxus placed her on her feet and raised her head so he could look her in the eyes. "Shit Lucy, stop crying." He told her as he wiped away her tears with wide eyes and a confused look on his face. "I'll go with you, just stop." He pleaded with her, obviously unsure about what to do with her.

"Thank you!" She threw her arms around him and cried into his chest, not caring about how ridiculous she must seem. "I have, I have to go pack!" She suddenly shouted, running out of his office and running through the guild like a mad woman. She knew several of guildmates were probably staring at her, but she didn't care about anything but one thing.

She was going to get Aquarius back.


	4. Sparks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is why I'm not trusted to remember anything, cause I would probably lose my head if it wasn't attached. Like god darned it, I had the chapters typed up but I forgot to add the rest of them cause I have the memory of a gold fish. 
> 
> I'm not even waiting, ya'll are going get spammed with updates. I'm so sorry!
> 
> Also the sparks thing is more subtle, kinda like the whole sparks fly saying. Ya know when two people just look each other in the eyes and there are sparks? Yea that was what I was going for.

For Laxus, it was an ordinary day in the guild. It was early in the morning, early enough that Mira wasn't serving alcohol to anyone but late enough that the guild was now officially open for people to start coming in and ordering breakfast or hanging out with other members. Occasionally Laxus would "people watch", as Freed and Evergreen called it when they spotted him studying other members of the guild, just to make sure there was no trouble about to start. It was during his "people watch"ing - Laxus didn't believe he was people watching, he was just observing his guildmates to make sure they weren't about to start any trouble - that his eyes drifted to the main door where Team Natsu was entering.

Laxus's eyes followed Gray and Natsu for a while, he was just waiting for a brawl to break out between the two, but eventually his sight drifted upstairs to where Lucy was doing her job. Mavis, it was still weird to think that Lucy was technically his personal assistant. He didn't really think of her as his personal assistant. He didn't really boss her around or anything, he also didn't have much for her to do, but still she spent about 60 percent of her work day with or near him. She shared his office with him, he was the one she went to with possible mage traps - three so far since she started -, and he was also the one she went to when she needed help with something. Overall, despite him not feeling like she was his assistant, they had started spending a lot of time - professionally at least - together. They had gotten to know each other pretty well over Lucy's time, as short as it was so far, as an employee for the guild.

And _that_ was the only reason why Laxus felt the need to watch her and protect her whenever he saw her.

Yep, that was the only reason. She was his guildmate, his employee, his nakama; she was nothing more to him than those things. He didn't have feelings for the cheerful blonde who, for some strange unknown reason, wasn't as cheerful now as she was before Tarturus.  
Her being his guildmate was the only reason his eyes naturally strayed to where she stood, that was the only reason why he relaxed when he caught her scent, and it was definitely the reason why he would sometimes scare off strange men who came to the guild looking to ask her on a date. Yea, that was exactly why.

And yea, Laxus knew he was in total denial.

Laxus knew, but would never admit, that he really liked the celestial mage. He didn't love her, not yet at least, but Laxus knew that what he felt definitely went way beyond lust. He knew how he felt could be dangerous for her, Gajeel and the twin slayers explained to him how Dragon Packs worked after they declared that he was their Alpha, so Laxus never asked her on a date. Despite the fact that Lucy knew - and was on good terms - with all the dragon slayers in the pack, Laxus was still worried that one of them might decide she wasn't good enough for him and challenge her to a battle to prove her strength. It was a stupid fear, one Laxus knew was completely irrational since it was more likely that they would decide _he_ wasn't good enough for _her_ and challenge him to a battle to prove it, but Laxus claimed that excuse as the reason why he wouldn't ask her out. It may not be the real reason why he wouldn't ask her, but it was a good enough reason that Laxus could pretend that it was the real reason.

Laxus's thoughts distracted him enough that he didn't catch Lucy approaching his table until his team stopped talking and turned to look at her. Laxus subtly watch her out of the corner of his eyes, slipping the lacrima headphones from his ear and letting them rest around his neck. He wasn't sure what he expected her to say, she was friends with all of his team so really she could be here for any of them, but he certainly didn't expect her to steal him away to his office. They made their way to his office in a silence that Laxus found uncomfortable and very unlike the Lucy he had gotten to know. He wasn't sure what was so important that Lucy needed to see him right away, but whatever it was - whatever made her so distressed that she seemed to barely be holding it together - it set him on edge.

"What'cha need, Blondie?" Laxus finally spoke up as he shut the door to his office, staring at Lucy as she watched him from her spot in the middle of his office. He looked down at her hands, staring at the mission flyer that was clutched tightly in her hands. "A mage trap?" He questioned, his back straightening and a serious look crossing his face. Lucy was working on the second floor mission board, so if that was a mage trap then that meant they were trying to capture an S-Class mage. To capture an S-Class mage, especially any of the powerhouse mages of Fairy Tail, they meant business and were probably with a powerful dark guild. Laxus was already beginning to mentally go over everything he - and his team and the magic council - would need to take down this trap and deliver the criminals that ass-kicking they obviously needed. However, much to his surprise, Lucy refused to look at him and her whole body began to shake.

"N-No." Laxus raised an eyebrow, worried about the way her voice quivered and her how defeated she sounded. Her trembling hands laid the mission on his desk as she fell to her knees with a loud thunk. At first Laxus was worried that the mission paper had been spelled with some kind of body control magic and Lucy had been put under it's spell, after all why else would she been kneeling before him with tears gathering in her pretty brown eyes. "Please, please, please take this mission with me Laxus." Laxus was sure he looked ridiculous right now as he panicked, looking down at Lucy's crying form with wide eyes and horrified expression. He had no fucking clue what to do with crying girls, he wasn't prepared to deal with kind of stuff. Lucy, probably taking his silence as a denial, cried a bit harder and Laxus could feel the desperation that surrounded her. _"Please."_

Oh Mavis, oh fucking Mavis, she was crying.

"Shit." He cursed quietly under his breath but, by the way Lucy seemed to curl into herself more, the blonde mage knew she caught his cursing. Instead of leaving her here and getting someone way more qualified than, Laxus - rather roughly he thought with a wince - yanked her up by her arm and placed her on her feet. He was tempted of running out of the office and calling out for the white haired demon or Ever to help Lucy. Instead though, Laxus raised her head so that she was looking him in the eyes.

Mavis, her eyes were such a pretty brown color even with tears gathered in them. For a brief few seconds, that felt like an eternity, Laxus just stared into her eyes and felt as if everything just clicked into place. That thing his mom used to say when he asked how she knew she fell in love with dad suddenly made sense now, _"I just knew, from the first moment we met, that I loved him and would love him. There was just this spark."_. And as much as Laxus wanted to believe that  _this_ was his spark, he wasn't so sure. After all he hadn't cared about Lucy before and then once he got his head out of his ass, it was too late. He had been banished from the guild, he had hurt his nakama, hell he probably even made her cry with the shit he pulled.

Wait. Cry. Oh  _shit_ , Lucy was still crying while he was staring into her eyes like some idiot.

"Shit Lucy, stop crying." He said softly with a confused frown, wiping away her large tears with his free hand. He was sure what the fuck that mission was, or why it was making the strong mage he knew she was break down into tears, but Laxus would go to hell and back if only to make her stop crying. Crush or not, she was still his nakama and she was hurting and he would put a stop to it. "I'll go with you, just stop." He pleaded with her, thankful that she seemed to calm down a little more.

"Thank you!" Laxus was surprised by the thin arms thrown around his neck and the fresh set of tears, but instead of saying anything he went to put his arms around her. He wasn't able to actually hug her as the moment he started moving, she jumped back with a watery smile on her face. "I have, I have to go pack!" She suddenly shouted at him as she took off, leaving him standing in his office with a bewildered expression on his face.

"What in the fuck just happened?" He whispered to himself as he picked up the mission flyer, reading over it and finding no answers to why Lucy was acting like she was.  
Laxus decided, after reading over the mission for a second time, that maybe agree to go on a mission with a possibly emotionally unstable guildmate without knowing what the mission is before hand probably wasn't the best idea.

And with that thought, Laxus made his way out of his office, down the stairs, and over to Mira. "Uh, Blondie and I are going on a mission." He said as he slid the mission flyer across the bar and over to her.

"Blondie?" She asked him, cocking her head to the side in a confusion. Laxus wasn't sure why the hell she was confused; there aren't that many blondes in the guild and of the few blondes there were, Laxus only called one of them Blondie. "You don't mean Lucy, do you?"

"Mhmm, She-Demon, I mean Lucy." He agreed, watching as both the Levy and Cana turned to look at him and then back at each other. "What?" He growled at them, watching as they grabbed the mission flyer and read over it. The two girls whispered to each other, quietly but with his enhanced hearing he heard them just fine. "Look, I ain't got time for this. She-Demon, approve the mission." He demanded with a huff as he began to make his way out of the guild. 

If Mira didn't approve it then _she_ could be the one listening - and explaining - to the crying Celestial mage why she couldn't go on this mission.


	5. Manga

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to take a guess at the ships mentioned in this chapter, the answers will be posted in the next chapter.

If ever asked, Mira would claim to be the best matchmaker in Fairy Tail, hell she'd claim to be the best in Fiore. She would proudly announce that all of her pairs - yes even the pairings that others claimed were "crack" pairings - would one day get together and have beautiful hordes of babies together. She'd tell you all about the babies she imagined - blue haired babies with brown eyes, pink haired babies with blue eyes, brown haired babies with red eyes just to name a few - and tell you every detail about their wedding. She knew that it was somewhat unlikely that all - or many - of her pairing would ever end up together and have beautiful hordes of children that she could fawn over. After all many of her guildmates were idiots that would rather die than admit their romantic affection for someone they really liked, i.e. Lucy, Laxus, her own brother, Evergreen, pretty much EVERYONE ELSE. 

Really, it pissed her off beyond belief.

However, one of Mira's pairing might about to come true and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it. It certainly wasn't a favorite pairing of her's, in fact both of them had also been shipped with a magnitude of other people at various points of time, but it was one that she used to support with a vigor.

LaLu, Laxus and Lucy.

Before, when Lucy had still new to guild and was an uncertain but still cheerful and loyal mage, Mira had begun to plan Laxus's and Lucy's romantic life. How they would meet, when they'd start dating, where they'd get married, how many beautiful little babies they'd have. Every little detail had been planned out and Mira, at the time, had been so excited for when Laxus would come home so she could introduce them.

Mira honestly had a good reason for pairing those two together, she had only been thinking about what would be best for them both. Growing up in the guild, Mira had gotten to know and grow up beside a good portion of her guildmates: Laxus, Erza, Team Shadowgear, Natsu, Grey, Happy, Cana, and so many more. So Mira knew that Laxus could be a good, she remembered how he had been when they were kids and how kind and selfless he had been then. She knew that how Laxus was during Fantasia, how he was still today - so closed off everyone, still so suspicious of people -, was because of the pain that Ivan put him through. She knew it wasn't entirely his fault, though it was still his fault a little bit because no one _made_ him shut them out, but still seeing that little child become that angry adult hurt her and the others. 

And so when Lucy came to guild with her optimistic smile and never ending cheerful attitude, Mira thought she had found the perfect girl for Laxus. She thought that the two blondes could balance each other out in a way that no one else would be able to. She hoped that Lucy's cheerful out look on life and kind nature would dull Laxus's rough and mean edges, that Lucy's light could take away the darkness Ivan instilled in Laxus. She thought that Laxus's strong nature - attitude wise - and the way he pushed people would help Lucy with her insecurity and her meek demeanor.

But that was before everything, that was before Phantom Lord and Lucy being tortured and LaLu just fell apart.

That was before Laxus refused to help unless Lucy dated him and - Mavis, Mira hoped this wasn't an actual stipulation, but there were rumors around the guild - sleep with him. He hadn't mentioned that when they had called him for help during Phantom Lord, however rumors went around the guild that _that_ was what he really wanted from Lucy. 

After that, despite Mira still caring about and loving Laxus, she didn't quite trust him around Lucy. Lucy was like a little sister to her and Mira, just like many other people in the guild, had this desire to protect Lucy from everything and everyone. Lucy just had this, this _thing_ about her, this light - hence her guild nickname The Light of Fairy Tail - about her that just made everyone want to protect and care for her.

And now Mira was staring at a mission flyer for an S-Class mission that Laxus would be taking with Lucy.

And she wasn't sure how she felt about this new development.

As Mira thought over this new progression, she left Kinana in charge of the bar while she went to the back room where her office was. No one, not even the Master, ever went into her office, no one ever really had a reason to. Afterall, there wasn't anything in her office that anyone ever need, all she "officially" stored in her office was guild member files, completed mission paperwork, and all the team paperwork. Unofficially though, Mira kept certain books back there that she had commissioned from a manga artist that she scared to keep silent about these books.

As Mira walked into her office, she shut and locked the door behind her and then activated a set of ruins which made her office sound proof. Slowly she made her way over to one of the filing cabinets in the far corner of her office and pulled out her guild key ring, going through the keys until she hit the one that opened the special filing cabinet. Mira skipped the first drawer, already knowing that the specific manga she was looking for wouldn't be in there. Instead she unlocked the second drawer, opening it and rifling through the dividers until she hit the sections marked L's.

"Lories, Lyredy, Larl, Lory, Leed, LoLu, Luen, Lyvia, Lavia." Mira mummered out loud, tsk-ing herself for arranging them in the order of which she ranked them - her OTPs being in the forefront and the ones which were just okay being in the back - and not in alphabetical order. At the very back of the L's section was the manga she was looking for _LaLu: The Story of Laxus Dreyar and Lucy Heartfilia._

Flipping through the manga, she skipped past the beginning pages all about how Laxus and Lucy would meet, how Laxus would ask her out on a magical date, how their first kiss went. Mira only stopped flipping so fast once she reached the page that read _TWO YEARS LATER; FAIRY TAIL._ She then began to slowly flip through the next pages, her eyes darting across the beautiful wedding decorations that adorned the guild, the girls all dressed up in the most gorgeous dresses, the men in dashing tuxes, Lucy in her wedding dress, Laxus in his tux, Master marrying them, and . . . Ah ha!  
Mira stared at the panel she had been looking for, her fingers gliding over the picture with a curious look on her face. The Manga Artist - Hiro Mashima was his pen name - had done this scene perfectly and Mira wondered if, in a few years, this specific picture would be - unknowingly - recreated.  
It was a picture of Laxus and Lucy exiting the chapel, hand-in-hand, as everyone posed around them with huge grins on their face. Master stood off to the side with a large smile and tears pouring out of his along with a few of the older members of the guild. All of Lucy's spirits were there as well, each of them laughing happily as stood with the group for the picture.

Mira closed the manga, a thoughtful look on her face as she placed it back into the cabinet. This time though, the manga sat snuggly between Lories and Lyredy.

Maybe Mira would give this ship another chance.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Mending Mage is not an actual mage or magic from Fairy Tail, it is once I created based off of Fairy Tail's magic system. Mending Mages fix broken magical items using mending magic which is a flexible magic that can fuse together once broken items. The more powerful an item, the more powerful the mending mage needs to be.
> 
> Feel free to use this magic or an other magical items or abilities I have created in your stories.

Layton Gallagher, an accomplished mending mage with 67 years of life experience, felt old.

Old and tired.

The silver haired mage with crystal blue eyes felt as if he had aged a century within the last month and his appearance was starting to show how badly he was being affected by this past month. His hair, which he used to take amazing care of, now rested in a messy high ponytail which ended at his shoulder blades. The once shiny locks were no listless and frizzy from his stress pulling - a bad habit he had developed in grade school and never grew out of - and poor maintenance. Dark bags had gathered under his eyes and he was certain he had also seeing worry lines developing when he looked in the mirror earlier that morning. Layton was sure he had also dropped a few pounds as his appetite had diminished greatly after the first set of mages - independent mages who were just kids really, god they were so young - had been killed and their bodies dumped on his porch.

Just thinking about those mages - _Clara, Barry, Francis,_ the names and faces haunted his nightmares - filled him with a sense of guilt and tiredness that seeped deep into his bones and made him feel even older than he already was feeling. After their untimely and horrific deaths, he sent the job again but this time only to specific guilds with powerhouse mages; Fairy Tail, SaberTooth, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus. All four guilds housed powerful members _and_ all of them had taken down dark guilds before so Layton had hope that he wouldn't be sending anymore innocent people to their death.

The mending mage sighed sorrowfully, as he made his way out of his bedroom and out to the modest living room. He was about to pull a book off of his oak bookcase when his protection rune, which were now running all day and all night, sent him a warning that there was a magical presence approaching his house. "That better not be them again." He spoke in a low voice, a slight tint of worry under lying the angry tone. He wasn't sure if his rune could handle another attack so soon after yesterday's attack, on a the plus side though he wasn't certain the dark guild's mages could handle another round with his Organic Link Runes. Before leaving his house to check out the disturbance, Layton grabbed an illusion lacrima and explosive lacrimas in case he needed to make a quick escape in the case the runes failed.

Throwing open his, he held his head high and plastered a calm yet menacing look on his face. He would face these dark mages with dignity and a sense of arrogance that would put even the most bratty rich child to shame. What he found however wasn't a horde of dark mages prepared to attack his runes nor even dark mages just inspecting them. No what he found was two blondes, a behemoth of a man and a tiny - in comparison to the man at least - shapely woman, who were covered completely dried mud, grass, and sticks. The two seemed to be bickering between themselves, the tinier blonde blaming their current on the bigger blond. Her ranting stopped though when her brown eyes glanced over and caught sight of him.

"Oh, hello." She greeted him with a sheepish smile and a nervous wave, her smile faltering a little when she really took notice of him. He didn't blame her one bit for that, he looked - and was - a complete mess. "I'm Lucy and this is Laxus, we're the mages from Fairy Tail." She told him, twisting the hand she had been waving around to show him a bright pink guild mark. "Mirajane should've sent you a message saying that we were coming for the job." She continued to ramble on, obviously nervous about something though he wasn't sure what exactly.

"Sorry, Miss Lucy, but my communication lacrima was broken a while back and traditional mail doesn't get delivered here." He told her as he took a few steps out of his house and offered her and her silent companion his hands. "Unfortunately, until that dark guild is taken care of, I have to keep the runes up for safety reasons. If you want to come in, you'll have to hold my hand until we get in the house." He told, pleased when they took his hands with no argument or complaint. Once inside, he released their hands and made his way into the kitchen to begin making some tea for himself and the dirty mages. "Please sit anywhere and don't worry about making a mess, I'll clean it later." He assured them as he finished the preparations and joined them in the living room where he found them sitting on his couch. "While we wait for the tea, why don't I tell you about this dark guild."

"They call themselves the Northern Wolves, though I'm not sure if they're affiliated with the Southern Wolves Guild." The tiny blonde, _Lucy_ he reminded himself, stiffened at the mention of the legal guild Southern Wolves. Layton was curious if the girl had ever run into any of the members of that guild or if she just knew the name by their - less than pleasant - reputation. "Many of their members use Magic-countering spells, just like the Southern Wolves, however they're either not powerful enough nor smart enough to take down the runes or these runes are much more powerful than I was informed. I'm inclined to believe that their members are just idiots. One of them did leave a map to their base in my front yard, after all." He explained to them, trying not to grin when he heard the bigger blonde snort in amusement at his remark about the guild's members' intelligence. 

The young woman sitting next to him, hiding a smile of her own, elbowed him in the side and gave him a stern look. "Unfortunately," the mood in the living room turned serious again when he continued speaking "there is something else I must tell you about." His somber tone seemed to put the two on edge and Layton felt bad about the disturbing news he'd have to give them.  
"You are not the first mages I have sent out for this job, but I pray that you are the last. The others I sent out, three independent mages, were tragically killed in the guild master's twisted games that he apparently likes to play. The guild master warned me that any mages I sent out would become contestants in his games and, he assured me, that he would without fail kill each contestant." Neither mage seemed particularly fazed by the threat, though both of them had very diverse reactions to the news of three previous mages deaths. Lucy looked heartbroken at the thought of three people dead, seeming to mourn the three mages she didn't know. Laxus however seemed to become a much more scary man, lightning cracked around him for a brief second before the mage got his powers under control. "I'm sorry to deliver such bad news to you.." He said apologetically but Lucy just waved off the implied apology with a sad yet kind smile. "Though   
Before anything else could be said, the kettle started whistling and Layton excused himself to pour tea for the three off them. Once inside the kitchen, and away from the eyes of the two mages, Layton let himself lean wearily on the counter with a hopeful - yet worried - look settle on his face. 

Two more innocents, who looked so young, Layton prayed that they wouldn't end up like the three before them.

Once he composed himself, he began to prepare the tea and snacks for them. The snacks were prepared first, just a plate with some chocolate chip cookies, and set to the side so he could begin working on the tea.

"Mr. Gallagher?" Layton nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard the young woman's voice from the kitchen door. "Oh Mavis, I'm sorry! I didn't meant to scare you, Mr. Gallagher, I just wanted to get your attention." She apologized with an embarrassed chuckled as she nervously ran her fingers through her dried muddy hair, causing some of the dried flakes to chips off of her hair and fall to the ground. "I'll help clean that up and the mess in the livingroom." She said, though it said softly and Layton was certain that she was now talking to herself.

"Please don't worry yourself with it, Miss Lucy." He assured her as he began to pour the steaming Sencha into three cups for himself and his two guests. The young woman was still standing in the doorway and, in between pouring the first and second cup of tea, Layton noticed she was bitting her lip and looking anywhere but at him. "Miss Lucy, is everything alright?"

"Ah." She seemed surprised to be called out, even more so when she noticed that he was watching her with concerned eyes. "I actually, I had something to talk to you about. Alone." She explained as she looked at the counter where two cups of tea were poured and the third one about to be filled. "You don't have to pour a cup for Laxus, he's gone outside to scout for a good area to set up base since the dark guild has set up somewhere near here. He took the map from the table, but we decided to leave the horse and supplies." She told him and he nodded, placing the kettle on one of the cold stove tops and handing her a cup of tea. Before she could leave with her tea, presumably heading back to his living room, Layton gestured to the dinning table and pulled out a seat for her to sit in.

"We might as well stay here." He told her and she nodded, taking the seat he offered her with a courteous smile and a quiet "thank you, Mr. Gallagher.". "Now what did you wish to talk about, Miss Lucy?" He questioned her with a strange look, he had told them everything he had known so he wasn't sure what else she could want. His confusion only grew more when she pulled out a folded up flyer, presumably his mission flyer, and flattened it out so that he could see that it was in fact his flyer.

"You said in your flyer that as payment you'd repair an item for each mage," She pointed to his words on the flyer and he nodded without looking down at it, he knew what he offered. Taking his nod as a continue with it, Lucy folded the paper back and placed it in her jacket pocket. "and I know your reputation of being the most powerful mending mage in all of Fiore." She continued on, her words quivering as her body started to shake with sadness. Layton's eyes softened as he took in the distressed girl sitting in front of him and he reached out, laying a hand on her's.

"Do you need me to fix something for you?" He asked in a soft and understanding voice, he had met many mages who were very attached to a particular piece of magical equipment for some sentimental reason. Many of them were distressed like Lucy was, however very few off them ever looked like they were about to break at the seems like she did.

"Yes, please." She pulled her hand away from him and brought both of her hands to her neck, pulling something off of her neck that was previously hidden by her hair and outfit. He couldn't be sure what the object was as she closed a hand around a shiny piece of gold attached to the necklace while her other hand fished out a brown bag from her jacket's inner pocket. Both items were placed carefully in front of him on the table, leaving him slight baffled by what he saw.  
The golden object she had pulled from around her neck looked like it was the top of an intricate key, a very intricate and lovingly hand crafted care made of beautiful gold. After staring at it for a few moments though, Layton realized what specifically he was looking at.

He was looking at the top of a gold key, but not just any kind of key. It was a Zodiac Key, more specifically he was certain that it was the key of the Mermaid. He gently picked up the broken key and studied it, trying to determine if it was the real deal or not. While Layton wasn't an expert on Celestial magic, nor Celestial keys, he knew how to spot a fake of anything from a mile away.  
And this was certainly not a fake.

"This is a Zodiac Key." He stated in wonder, absolutely baffled on how one of the most powerful items in history could have been broken. He looked up at the blonde and watched as she opened up the tiny brown bag and poured it's contents into her hand, showing them of to him. They were fragments of gold and if Layton were to guess, the fragments of the key he currently held in his hands.

"Please, Mr. Gallagher, please fix Aquarius's key." Tears were falling from her brown eyes and Layton gently set the key down, getting up from his seat and resting a hand on her shoulder.  
"I can't promise anything, Miss Lucy," he began, wincing sympathetically when sob fell from her lips "but I will try my best to fix this key." He assured her with a sad smile as her took the gold fragments from her hand, picked up the golden top from the table, and then put them all in the brown bag she had left on the table.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She cried as she stood up and hugged him tightly, her body shaking so hard that Layton was impressed with how she managed still stay standing. She pulled away from him quickly and began to fumbled with a light brown leather case that set on her belt, this time pulling out - what Layton believed to be - a functional Zodiac Key. "This is the key of the Lion, Leo." She explained to him with a truly brilliant smile as she handed him the key. "Leo, well he mostly goes by Lock now, anyways, Leo has agreed to help you with anything you need." She told with, drying her eyes on the back of her hand. "He can come out of his gate on his own so if you need him just hold the key and say his name and he'll come and try to help or answer any questions you have." The key in his hands seemed to give off a shine of light at her words and Layton thought that maybe that was the spirit's way of agreeing with his master without actually joining them.

"Thank you, Miss Lucy, but are you sure you won't need him for the mission?" He asked her with a look his children and grandchildren called "over protective grandpa" look. "It's rather dangerous and I don't feel comfortable taking one of your most powerful keys from you."

"It'll be fine, Mr. Gallagher, I promise. I have other friends to protect and fight with me if I get in a fight," she tapped the light brown case on her belt with a smile " and I have Laxus too." She assured him as she started to move a little more away from him. "Speaking of Laxus, I should probably go and find him. Pyxis, my compass key," she explained to him, probably because he looked confused by the name "is currently tracking him and he mentioned that Laxus has stopped moving. He's probably setting up camp so I should go help him." Layton nodded and offered her an arm to walk her to the front door and then out of the house.

"Please tell your companion that I said thank you for taking this job." He told her and Lucy nodded, smiling at him once more and waving a hand goodbye.

"I will, Mr. Gallagher, we'll see you soon with good news!" She promised him as she summoned someone, a man like goat in a business suit, who accompanied her along her walk towards the denser part of the woods that ran along his house.  

After she felt his field of vision, Layton made his way inside the house and to the back where his work station was. Sooner or later those two would hopefully be back from destroying the dark guild and when they came back, Layton wanted to be able to hand Lucy back a working Aquarius key.


	7. Prey

It was a beautiful and tranquil day, the sky was a clear blue and there were large fluffy clouds traveling across the sky at a slow pace. The Master of Northern Wolves sat in a throne placed on the edge of a cave that was just slightly elevated above the clearing where the members of the Northern Wolves members had set up camp. In total, not including the master, there was a total of fifty Northern Wolves members camping out in clearing where they had set up temporary residence. Despite there being fifty of them staying in the grassy clearing, there were only ten medium sized tents set up for use. There was of course an eleventh tent set up, however this tent was set within the cave and of the members knew that this tent was reserved solely for the Master.

"Master, Master Quiet!" A loud man's voice shouted over the noise of the other members of the Northern Wolves, the panic in voice caused the others to quiet down until it was completely silent. The dark haired man, _Thomas_  the Master Quiet remembered, ran all the way to the cave a knelt down at ledge.

All of the guild's eyes turned to look at Thomas and at Master Quiet, nervous and slightly on edge by whatever had caused Thomas to panic and come running straight to the Master. Quiet had to chuckle as the members of the guild became tense, all of them preparing for a fight despite the fact that Thomas often caused a commotion over the tiniest of problems. Before Quiet could ask even begin to address Thomas there was a loud crack and three Northern Wolves members, who had been guarding the front of the camp, were sent flying into the middling of clearing by bolt of lightning. Two blonds, a tall man made practically of muscle and a woman with breasts could the Quiet wouldn't mind being smothered by, strutted into the clearing with an air of confidence.

"Oi, we're here to see your guild master." The man of muscle told everyone, giving the members of the Northern a once over before snorting with an unimpressed look. Quiet chuckled loudly from her throne and the two blonds turned to the cave, both of their eyes widening in surprise as she stood and made her way forward.

"That would be me." 

Quiet didn't blame them for their surprise, after all it wasn't everyday you saw such a beautiful woman in charge of such a powerful dark guild.

Guild Master Quiet, Alexandra "Quiet" Lakes, wasn't really a vain woman nor was she narcissistic but she knew how good she looked. She had a nice full body, though not quite as filled as that young brown eyed blonde. Damn, the things Quiet was imagining doing to that nice body. Perhaps she'd be able to convince the girl to be her Queen, after all they'd be one nice looking couple. The blonde's fair looks would be complimented very well by Quiet's tan skin and darker looks.  
She had dark brown hair that was long and pulled into a high ponytail that ended just above her butt, swinging side to side with every step she took. Her light brown eyes were accented with a darker brown eye shadow, black eye liner, and a gold dusting on the eye shadow. Today she wore a one shoulder forest green top that was tucked into her thigh length black skirt, which had a slit cut into it that went half way up skirt. Her outfit was completely by a black lace ribbon tied around her neck, a black belt, dark grey tights, and black knee high leather boots.

Yea, that pretty blonde would look good by her side and look even better in her bed.

Quiet opened her red painted mouth but before she could get any words out, the muscular blond spoke up again. "Never seen a man with that nice of a ra - " Quiet watched as the girl stomped on her companions foot and gave him a stern look.

"What my partner meant was, we were expecting the guild master to be a man." The young woman explained in an even tone, obviously trying to be civil but still prepared for battle. "Mr. Gallagher, you know the man your guild is threatening," She said as her tone got a little more stormy, her eyes now filled with a fire that made Quiet want to jump her. "seemed to be under the impression that you were a man."

"Hmm, I wonder why?" Quiet mused to herself, tapping her perfectly manicured nails against her chin. "Perhaps," she whispered to herself "Game Master, step forward." She called out to the crowd of her guild members, watching as her second in command stepped forward with a charming smile. The members of her guild started to create a circle around her, Game Master, and the two blonds, making the man shift closer to his partner probably as a way to shield her in case of an attack.

"Yes, Master?" The older man asked, his hair was a graying black that was pulled back into a bun and he wore a nice white tux accented with a dark purple tie.  
"When I told you to send a message to the mending mage, did he take you for the guild master?" She asked him curiously, keeping her eyes on the blonds who had started to become even more tense by the circle of dark mages forming around them. 

"Perhaps, he did." Game Master said with an uncaring shrug as Quiet continued to watch the pretty girl and her partner. "I did tell him that I led the guild in the games that killed the last contestants and that if any other mages came here, that they too would be part of my games." Quiet nodded as the circle started to tighten around the four causing the mages to begin to prepare for a fight. The man started to spark with lightning while the girl raised her hands, a whip handle situated in one hand and her other curled into a fist.

Quiet was about to make a remark about the whip and how it could be used in a more private setting when she caught sight of the pink brand on the back of the girl's hand. "Wait," She called out to her guild, raising her hand in a stop motion and halting all movement from everyone in the field. "pretty girl, that's a guild mark, isn't it?" She asked as she moved forward, intending to grab the girl's hand to get a closer look at it. She was stopped though was the muscular man took a step in front of his partner and growled, literally growled, in her direction.

"Stay away from her, Rapunzel." He demanded with narrowed eyes, his hand clenched tightly into a fist with lightning shooting off of it in mini sparks. Quiet laughed at his protectiveness and raised her hand, grinning as golden transparent chains shot from the ground and wrapped tightly around the man's body. The lightning vanished as he fought against the chains, completely immobilized by her magic.

"Laxus!" The cute blonde shouted, the handle suddenly developing an actual - and such a pretty - whip part. "Let him go and I'll go easy on you." She announced and Quiet had to applaud her bravado, despite the fact that Quiet knew the blonde had to be nervous.

"How about, and this is a much better idea," She started, side stepping the man - Laxus, she should start calling him by his name -, and moving closer to her newest queen. "you and me head into my tent and I let your friend go back home to his guild." Laxus seemed to get even angrier at that suggestion, thrashing around in the chains with roar that even scared Quiet a little. Quiet cleared her throat to hide the brief bout of fear she felt when his roar echo'd throughout the clearing and the nearby woods. "In fact, that'll be the deal I offer you; You join me in my tent and stay with me and I won't let the Game Master kill your friend."

"Blondie, don't you fucking dare." Quiet chuckled as he tried so hard, and in vain, to escape his bonds and attack her. The girl didn't seem fazed by the threat, but she did seem a bit off put by Quiet's very generous offer.   
Now that wouldn't do.

"Before you make your decision, beautiful, let me tell you what happens if you say no." Quiet warned her with a narrowed eyes, cupping her future queen's cheek and forcing the girl's darker brown eyes to meet her lighter ones. "If you say no, I'm going to let Game Master play one of his sadistic games with you both. Your friend over there, Laxus, will be killed first and it will be brutal and messy and I will force you to watch as he slowly dies. Depending on the game really depends on how he dies, but I promise you it won't be fun." The blonde swallowed thickly as her eyes widened and her skin paled into a sickly white. "And then, once he's dead, I'll let the Game Master continue his game with you but he won't kill you, no instead you'll be taken to my quarters forcibly. And once there, I'll play my own types of games with you and then I'll keep you chained to my throne." She could hear Laxus's screams of anger and Quiet grinned, pressing her painted lips to the blonde's lips for a chaste kiss. "Either way, beautiful, you'll be my pretty little Queen."

"Blondie, don't you **_fucking_** dare. I SWEAR TO MAVIS, LUCY, I WILL KILL YOU. DON'T YOU DARE SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR ME." Laxus screamed, his screams becoming less angry and now more frantic in nature. "We can beat his games, Lucy, we can beat her guild!" Laxus screamed and Quiet watched as her precious new Queen, Lucy, nodded slowly and unsure.

"Y-Yea," She agreed, stepping away from Quiet and tightening her grip on the whip's handle. "we can beat you. We'll play the Game Master's games and we'll win." She seemed more confident in her declaration this time and Quiet sneered, gesturing for Game Master to take the metaphorical stage.

"Of course, Master." He said with a devious grin, throwing his hands up and conjuring up a timer above his head. "Today's game is Hide-n-Seek! The seekers are the members of the Northern Wolves while the hiders are Laxus and Lucy from" he trailed off and stared at Lucy's hand, chuckling once he figured out what guild these two are from. "the guild Fairy Tail!" He announced to the crowd, some of them shifting nervously once they heard the guild name. Quiet didn't blame them, Fairy Tail wasn't to be trifled with.

But then again, neither was the Northern Wolves.

"Now then, Miss Lucy and Mr. Laxus, the game is rather simple and the rules are easy to understand." He told his "contestants", shooing away a portion of the circle so that he could gesture to the yellow chalk line on the green grass that sat something like starting line. "You will start on the yellow line and when I say go, you'll run into the forest and go hide. You'll have five minutes to hide, Miss Lucy, and then after that, we'll let your partner here have a minute head start to find you or just hide alone. Oh and Miss Lucy, don't think you can just stay still and wait for him." The Game Master said with a grin, waving forward two men to restrain her as a timid look woman approached. "Place it around her waist, Talli." The Game Master told the small lavender haired girl who nodded and placed her hands around Lucy's hips.

Quiet chuckled as she watched, with a gleeful look, as the blonde's tight shirt and jacket were held up to reveal smooth and flawless looking skin. Laxus was still making threats, this time yelling at the men who were holding up her clothes. Quiet, as well as the rest of her guild, ignored the man and continued to watch as Lucy struggled against her captors. Talli's hands began to glow a silver-ish blue as Lucy began screaming in pain, letter magic suddenly appearing on her skin in the small silver-ish blue as Talli's hands. Once it was all over, Lucy had a band of writing wrapped around her lithe waist.

"That is a type of Letter Magic that was actually created by out Talli here." The Game Master explained to the blonde who was holding back her tears and staying strong despite the pain she was obviously in. Quiet was getting even more excited, Lucy was going to be a fun queen. "Should you stay within one mile of the start, this letter belt will alert everyone in the area to your position. If you stay in one spot to long, the letter belt will alert everyone in the nearby area to your position. And lastly, should you try to remove the letter belt, it will let everyone know where you are." He explained with a grin, gesturing for the men to place her down in front of the yellow line. Once she was set down, the magic clock that followed above Game Master's head wound up to 5:00 minutes.

"On your mark, get set, hide!" He shouted cheerfully as Lucy took off into the woods, the runes Quiet had created rippling as she entered. The runes were weak ones that wouldn't hold up very well to a powerful enough attack, but Quiet doubted that her Queen's whip could really do too much damage to the runes.

Her Lucy - oh yes Quiet loved the sound of that, her Lucy - began running for her life, disappearing into the thick would, her golden hair swinging in the breeze as she ran. Once she disappeared from sight, Quiet walked away from her followers and made her way to her throne. Sitting down at her throne, the guild master pulled out a lacrima holo-screen so she could watch her pretty blond through the lacrima cameras that were placed in the forest at random intervals.

A few minutes later, she caught the sound of Game Master re-explaining the rules to Laxus. However, there was an additional rule tacked on the caught Quiet's attention. 

"And Mr. Laxus, if you fight anyone of us when you are released, Miss Lucy will be meeting with her god faster than your attack will land." Quiet nodded her approval at the empty threat, Game Master wouldn't dare go against her, and turned her attention back to her holo-screen. Lucy had taken shelter in the branches of tree, she was touching something on her side and mouthing words quietly and at a fast enough pace that Quiet couldn't quite tell what she was saying.

" . . . **_hide!_** " Quiet's head shot up in surprise and an embarrassed blush dusted her cheeks when she realized that she had been startled by Game Master's "ready, set". Oh well, none of her followers were watching her so she didn't care too much. Instead, her attention went back to Lucy, who was now making her way farther into the forest.

Quiet continued to follow Lucy through the recording lacrimas that were set up in various places in the forest, grinning to herself when one lacrima - which was hiding on the ground - got a great panty shot.

Gods, she was such a pervert.

Eventually the others went out to find the "contestants" and Quiet was given a front row seat to Lucy fighting first hand. It seemed she was more powerful than Quiet had originally given her credit for, the girl was a Celestial Mage with decent fighting training as proven by the way she kicked and knocked out one of her men.

An hour passed of Quiet just watching Lucy, who at this point had lost her jacket and now had a limp, and occasionally listening to the members who had stay behind mindlessly chatter. As she watched Lucy go sit by a stream, presumably to give her sore body a break, there was a loud warning shot from the front of the clearing. There was loud cursing and cries of surprise from the remaining ten members who had stayed, all of them taken surprise and now being cuffed by soldiers from the magic council.

Quiet angrily raised her hand, prepared to start chaining people to the people and very slowly squeezing the life out of them when something made contact with her head and her world went black.

 

When Quiet woke back up, she was being cuffed by two men who were obviously from the council but weren't foot soldiers. She glared and attempted to use her powers, but there was nothing. No transparent golden chains sprung from the ground, not even a transparent golden link rose. She stared at her hands in fury and slightly horror, this was not happening. "What in the - "

"Doesn't feel to good, does it Rapunzel?" A sarcastic voice quipped from in front of her, making her snarl and glare at him. It was Laxus, covered in bandages, in front of her with an arrogant grin plastered on his face. Behind him, Quiet could see Lucy sitting down on the ground, a pair of crutches at her side, as she spoke to that that bastard who hired the Fairy Tail mages. She watched as Layton passed her Queen something gold and shiny and whatever it was, it made Lucy start sobbing with a big smile. The blonde stood up and threw her arms around him, crying happily onto his shoulder.

"I recommend you keep your eyes off of her." Another male voice said, this one not as deep as Laxus's but just as angry. She turned to her left to see the man who spoke to her, a man with a cross scar on his face and an unhappy frown, sneered at her and grabbed her upper arm tightly. 

Obviously Lucy had a lot more friends than she expected.

Instead of responding, or turning her eyes back to the beautiful woman who was just a few feet out of reach, she sneered at Laxus and snapped. "How did this happen, what did _you_ do?!" He voice, loud and sharp, caught the attention of everyone still in the clearing. It looked like most of her low level followers had already been taken away, however her top circle was currently being loaded into a SE Council truck to presumably be taken to the council for a trial.

"Not me, it was Layton really." Laxus said with a big and a slight chuckle, obviously taking enjoyment at her capture and inability to use magic. "Apparently he came looking for Blondie, but found me instead. And we made a plan, a pretty damn good one too." Laxus told her as the man with the scar nodded in agreement and the other man, the one with glasses and an ugly hairstyle, rolled his eyes. "Apparently he fixed his communication lacrima, the one you assholes destroyed, as well as something he promised to fix for Lucy." Laxus briefly turned to stare at Lucy and Quiet followed his gaze and stared as well; Lucy had been left alone again and was now snuggled up in the jacket she had seen Laxus with before she had been knocked out. He turned back and the scar man jerked her arm a little and her attention turned back to the annoying blond. "I knew I wasn't going to be able to take you all out on my own, at least not with that girl's damn letter runes on, so I called the magic council for backup. With your members spread across a large forest, they were able to ambush you and take you out before you could cause trouble. Once that was done, they began to help me and Blondie pick off the rest of your guild." He explained, patting the scar man's shoulder with a thankful nod. "Thanks again, Mest." He said, ignoring the man's protest that his name was Doranbolt, before turning to the other man. "You too, Lahar." The ugly hair man nodded and Laxus turned away, making his way back over to Lucy.

"You'll be coming with us, Quiet." Doranbolt, Mest, whatever his name was, said to her, dragging her along to another SE Council trunk. She was passed off to Lahar who put her in the back of the car, chaining her to the bench and jump out of the back. Right before he closed the door Quiet was able to watch as Laxus picked Lucy up and leaned down, probably whispering something to her.

The last thing Quiet saw as the doors closed was Lucy pulling away from the whispering Laxus and then leaning close again, kissing him deeply.


End file.
